There was a time when electricity was electricity. Like so many other places around America, in Houston, electricity didn’t mean “cheap electricity”. But you moved into your home and you called the utility and they turned on the power and the bill came in and you paid it every month. Oh, sure, you might grumble at the amount but then you’d go around and yell at the kids for leaving the lights on and the TV blaring with nobody in the room or maybe you’d look into buying more energy-efficient appliances. When it came down to it, the Bill was the Bill. Either you paid the bill or you ate dry packet meals, had cold showers, and watched TV by peering through the neighbor’s window after dark (preferably once they’d turned the TV on). What’s that? You want cheap electricity? Sure thing: call 1-800-WHO-CARES any time during regular business hours of 2:17am to 3:04am Sundays only.

Just Energy was founded in Mississauga, Ontario, in 1997, with the goal to provide customers with the energy they need as well as opportunities to become more efficient and leave behind a smaller carbon footprint. Just Energy and its affiliate companies rely on green energy options and dependable home and commercial service to build its customer base.

If you’re looking for a new electricity deal, you’re not alone: 319,000 electricity customers switched energy supplier during January 2018, according to OFGEM*. Shopping around for the best electricity deal is simpler than you might think – but there are bound to be a few questions. Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about comparing electricity deals.

But they are not pessimistic about the sector. “The good news is that renewable energy has – at least on a levelized cost of electricity, or LCOE, basis – clearly achieved the long-awaited goal of grid competitiveness,” they say. Both onshore wind and solar projects have won auctions, in Morocco and Chile respectively, with bids of $30/MWh or less in the last 12 months. “These must be the lowest electricity prices, for any new project, of any technology, anywhere in the world, ever. And we are still going to see further falls in equipment prices,” they assert.

Last year the duo said that sales would break the 500,000 milestone but significantly underestimated the market’s growth, so “at the start of 2017, Angus and I are going to throw prudence to the winds, run our hands through our grey sea-captain hair, and bet it breaks the million mark”, helped by higher oil prices, a flood of new, improved models on the market, ongoing falls in battery prices and improved charging infrastructure. The aforementioned need to improve air quality and the continued fallout from the Dieselgate scandal will play a part, too.
But in future, BNEF argues, the aim will be to secure as low-cost renewable power as possible and supplement that with “more expensive flexible capacity from demand response, storage and gas, and then importing the remaining needs from neighbouring grids. We are reaching the point in the story where power system regulation will have to be fundamentally rethought .”

Another unwelcome side effect of not knowing your average monthly kWh usage level is that you may end up paying more than you expect. This can occur when a customer inadvertently shops an electric rate based on a higher usage level than they actually use. Electricity suppliers commonly advertise their electric rates associated with the highest (2000 kWh) usage levels since those tend to be the lowest rates.

When the energy market became deregulated in a majority of Texas in 2002, residents and business owners in these regions earned the power to choose which retail electric provider would supply their electricity. In a deregulated energy market, you could have a range of options for electricity supply rates, which means doing research to find the best one for your needs.

Direct Energy is one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related services providers with nearly 5 million residential and commercial customer relationships. Direct Energy provides customers with choice and support in managing their energy costs through a portfolio of innovative products and services. A subsidiary of Centrica plc (LSE:CNA), one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, Direct Energy operates in 46 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and 10 provinces in Canada.
“We hope that 2017 marks the year when the world gets serious about protecting its increasingly digital and connected infrastructure – whether that is from malicious attacks, technical failures, or unpredicted weather impacts or spikes in demand. If we are wrong, we worry that the world will get a sudden and very unpleasant wake-up call – if not this year, then some time soon.”

Stafford electricity rates fluctuate with the price of energy in the market. That's because Stafford electricity providers purchase electricity wholesale and break it up into plans for consumers. If the price of wholesale electricity goes up, rates are likely to follow. That's why it's so important to lock down a great deal right away. If you choose to wait, Stafford electricity rates could rise and you'll have missed out.

To try to prevent these customers from being further ripped off, the government is planning to implement an energy price cap, which will require Ofgem to set a maximum amount that suppliers can charge on their standard tariffs until 2020. This should be in place by the end of 2018. This is in addition to the current price cap for vulnerable and prepayment customers.
Some good news: According to J.D. Power’s 2016 survey on retail electric providers (its most current survey of the space), Texas has the highest overall satisfaction with retail electric providers out of any state. And because rates, plans, and offers can be so similar from provider to provider, customer satisfaction scores are a great way to break a tie. Think of it like choosing who to hire when you have two candidates with similar resumes — you’re going to pick the person with the glowing references.
Entrust Energy is a privately owned retail electricity and natural gas provider. With over 100,000 customers, it is one of the fastest growing providers in the nation. Entrust not only offers competitive rates and reliable customer service, but they have also eliminated all unnecessary monthly customer fees to show appreciation to their loyal customers. Entrust’s Customer Care Center, located in the US, provides personalized assistance to all customers to help reinforce the commitment to upholding the highest customer service standards in the industry.
The local electric company is the utility – that’s the company who owns the infrastructure, including the poles and power lines that deliver electricity to your home. They are who you call if your power goes out or there's an emergency. But in almost every city in Texas, you must choose another company to supply that energy, called a Retail Electric Provider (REP). These REPs, like Spark Energy, allow you to choose electricity plans that offer competitive prices and plans to meet your needs.